i never thought much about it before.

if esther hadn’t needed a place the last minute

with all those fresh air kids coming to town,

i never would think of it still.

i might have joined the ladies’ klan.

become an officer, even.

klan can seem mighty right-minded, with their talk of family virtue,

mighty decent, if you don’t scratch the surface.

there’s a kind of power they wield,

a deceptive authority.

i think a lot about it these days.

the klan says they don’t stand against anyone.

but a catholic, a jew, a negro,

if they got arrested,

and the judge was klan,

and the jury was klan,

you can’t convince me they’d get a fair trial.

it took having the hirshes here

to see straight through

to the end of it.